August feels like it’s flying by, which is awesome (I have a visit home and an excellent professional conference coming up) and horrifying (I have a visit home and an excellent professional conference coming up and several projects to finish before I go.) I’m struggling to make the most of every work day as I stare nervously at the clock.

As deadline anxieties threaten to overwhelm me, I try to break my schedule into helpful chunks. One hour for drafting, 30 minutes for an interview, 10 minutes to eat a bowl of cereal from the work pantry.

I find that my best articles come from many hours of research and a much smaller amount of time spent on writing. When I agonize over every sentence, I end up with a final project that’s formal and awkward, rather than a strong, concise overview of something that matters.